TEACHER:
Ms. Sansone
SCHOOL:
Frenchtown
CLASS:
second grade
SCHOOL PHONE:
203-452-4227
Welcome to the new school year! I am so pleased to be your child's teacher.
I am entering my eighth year teaching at Frenchtown and this is my
second year teaching second grade! I am so excited to begin another great
year teaching this age group! While I may know some of my former students
from Kindergarten, there are many I will be getting to know for the first
time!
I have my Masters in Education from the University of Bridgeport. I continue
to take an active part in furthering my knowledge in education by attending
professional workshops offered by the district and reading about new and
fresh teaching strategies and ideas to better help your child make the most
of his/her learning experience.
My goal is to make a difference in your child's educational experience and to
instill in them a love for learning!
I have one daughter, Hannah, who will be entering her sophomore year at
Trumbull High School! Hannah's favorite subject in school is reading. She
reads everything and anything! Hannah, is the reason I went into the teaching
field. I taught her to read at a young age as she entered kindergarten, and
it was then that I knew I wanted to help other children and make a career of
it.
I want your child to have a fun and successful year in second grade. Please
feel free to contact me by phone (school phone number) or e-mail
(msansone@trumbullps.org) if there are situations that need
to be discussed. I truly welcome and encourage an open-line of communication
between home and school!The best times to reach me at school are from
8:00a.m.- 8:30a.m. and then 3:30 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. I am always willing to
schedule a conference at any time and for any reason.
ABOUT OUR CLASSROOM:
You may find the following information helpful in making this a successful
year for your child:
* ATTENDANCE:
A successful school experience is the responsibility of the
children, the parent, and the school. Your child's progress, both
academically and socially, is influenced to a great extent by daily
participation. Regular attendance without tardiness is key!
*TRANSPORTATION:
If you plan to pick up your child who typically rides the
bus home, or you wish for your child to do something different at dismissal
time,you must send in a written note or contact the main office. Please do
not rely on your child to tell us this information because students often
become confused and relay information incorrectly. If no written note or
phone call is received, your child will be sent home by his/her usual method
of transportation.
BACKPACK:
Please look in your child's backpack/folder daily.We send all
school "news" by way of your child's HOME/SCHOOL folder and written notes
from me can be found in the Communication Notebook. These folders and
notebooks will come home daily and are to be sent back to school the next
day. Please send all money and other important things that you would like me
to find in your child's folder, and all written messages from you to me in
their communication notebook. This keeps everything organized and clutter-
free. It is much easier to keep notes in one place so we will both know
where to look daily.
BE POSITIVE AND VALUE THE WORK YOUR CHILD DOES AT SCHOOL!!! THIS WILL
BECOME EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR YOUR CHILD'S ACADEMIC AND PERSONAL SUCCESS!!!
Please remember to look inside your child's HOME folder as I will be sending
many notices home to you to review from me or from the office
(Mrs. Norcel). Please try to help your child understand the
importance of this HOME folder and the purpose it serves. Of course we will
be talking about it in school, however, the added home reinforcement will
help greatly! In addition, please remind your child to remove all "old"
papers daily to show you. This will help keep your child organized and
responsible, and you will be able to review all work and notices.
OUR second grade WEEK INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING SUBJECT AREAS:
Language Arts (reading and writing every day!), Mathematics, Social Studies,
Science, Art, Music/chorus, Physical Education (P.E.) twice a week, and
Library.
LANGUAGE ARTS
We do Language Arts, which includes phonemic awareness, reading, writing,
and using oral language to respond to literature in a variety of ways. For
MATHEMATICS
we use Calendar Math and Investigations (a program that uses a
hands-on approach to exploring math in a very natural sense.) Math will be
taught daily.
SOCIAL STUDIES
SCIENCE
SNACKS:
We will have a small snack each day (about 10 minutes). Please
provide your child with a healthy snack, and a napkin for wiping hands.
BIRTHDAYS AND TREATS:
Birthdays are Wonderful! Simple treats may be sent to
school (or brought in by you) on your child's birthday. Sending a birthday
treat is optional. Birthday treats are appreciated but certainly not
expected. If your child's birthday falls in June, July or August, when
school is not in session, we will have a Summer Birthday Celebration Day for
these children during the last week of the school year. I will provide
birthday crowns and when the time comes, we can discuss bringing the treats.
INVITATIONS:
I will be more than happy to help your child distribute
invitations to the children in class, however, my rule is that all
classmates must be invited in order to send them through "school mail." This
rule is to avoid hurt feelings and to teach kindness and respect for one
another. If you would like to invite specific children, please invite them
during non-school hours. Thank you, in advance for your cooperation.
WEEKLY STUDENT UPDATE:
HOMEWORK:
*READING CALENDARS:
The Reading Dept.sends home F.R.E.E.Reading Calendars to you so that you can
record the amount of time your child spends reading each month. The goal is
for all the children to read EACH night in order to earn a prize each month!
There will be more information to come concerning the procedures. Please
watch for these calendars for they will be coming home soon.
BEHAVIOR AND DISCIPLINE:
Our class rules include:
1. We are kind.
2. We listen carefully
3. We take turns speaking.
4. We use quiet voices.
5. We respect the space of others.
6. We always try!
I believe in having high expectations of the children to follow classroom
rules and to help them understand the reasons behind the rules. I want all
of the children to have the opportunity to learn and for no student to keep
another student from being able to learn. I strive to provide a safe and
comfortable learning environment for the children in which we work and live
as a team in our classroom.
If a child is continuously having difficulty following classroom rules, I
will send home a daily report to communicate areas which need improvement.
If for any reason I feel like a child may benefit from taking home a daily
report, I will contact the parent so that together we can discuss our
options to get the child back on track with behavior.
HOW CAN YOU BE A PART OF YOUR CHILD'S EDUCATION?
* Assisting in special projects
* Chaperoning field trips
* Volunteering for classroom parties
* Sharing your family culture/celebrations, etc. with your child's class
* Reading as a "Guest Reader" in the classroom
* Helping your child with his/her homework!
* Reading to your child Daily at home!
GUEST READERS:
I welcome and encourage parent readers whom we call "Guest
Readers" to come to read to the children in our classroom. You may pick out
a book of your own (most students like to pick them out with their parents
the night before). You may pick one or two books. We usually allow 20 mins.
because time is limited. More information will follow regarding the day of
the week I choose to invite Guest Readers in!
GRADES:
You will receive your child's report card THREE times a year-
DECEMBER, MARCH, and JUNE. You will have an Interim Report in April which is
similar to a progress report. It will give you the oppotunity to see what
your child needs to work on before the last report card comes out. It is a
way to monitor your child's progress so that there are no surprises come
June! We will also be contacting you to schedule a conference for your child
in November. We try to schedule it based on other children you may have at
Frenchtown. We try to have you come in to conference with your children's
teachers all on one night for your convenience. Note~ It would be helpful if
you would indicate whether you would prefer an evening conference because I
need time to work it out. Simply send me a note via e-mailor notebook. I will
do my best to accommodate all families.
EXPECTATIONS:
FIELD TRIPS:
My mission for the class is to strive, in partnership with families, to meet
the educational needs of all students within a challenging, supportive, and
safe academic environment that empowers each student to become a life-long
learner. I also strive to make learning fun and exciting for all students.
I encourage self-expression and student-centered learning. I also strive to
support all children in maximizing their abilities and as mentioned before,
instill in them, a love of learning! I focus on building self-esteem and
guiding children to believe in themselves so that they feel they are special
and smart and that they know their ideas, questions and comments are
important!
The Classroom Theme for this year is Teamwork! We will learn, play and share
together as a team. We will also respect all members of our team inorder to
have a winning year!